LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nearly two weeks after the election, the Clark County Commission voted Monday to certify the election results with the exception of the County Commission District C race. The panel will consider a special election for the race in December.
Results show Democrat Ross Miller leading Republican Stavros Anthony by 10 votes. If Anthony won, the all-Democrat commission would have its first Republican in more than a decade.
Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria delivered a full report to county commissioners in Monday’s special meeting. The report is required by law, and Gloria revealed the following discrepancies:
- 936 in ballots
- 710 with mail-in precincts
- 121 in early voting precincts
- 105 on Election Day
- 6 voters voted twice (Number revised to 5 Nov. 18)
It was previously reported that six voters voted twice. That number was revised to five on Wednesday, according to Clark County:
“Previously, we said there were six (6) double votes, but since then, we have been able to confirm that one of those did not occur. We have forwarded these to the Secretary of State’s Office for investigation and possible criminal prosecution. We will not release the names of those voters at this time so as not to interfere in any potential criminal investigation.”
Gloria stated that they had found the discrepancies in tracking, moving from signature to manual signature verifications, as well as in the ballot curing process. Some of the discrepancies found in the early voting and election day results included:
- Inadvertent canceled votes
- Voter check-ins
- Reactivated voter cards
- Duplicate activations
- Check-in errors
Gloria also noted there were 60,109 provisional ballots cast in the election. He said 57,866 of these ballots were accepted, and 2,243 were rejected. He cited the following reasons for rejections:
- 115 voters had already voted
- 142 voted in wrong district or wrong precincts
- 8 were not eligible to vote
- 1,925 were not registered to vote
- 53 did not provide adequate proof-of-residence or a valid identification
A provisional ballot is cast by a voter who believes they are registered, but does not appear as registered. A provisional ballot can also be issued when there are questions about a voter’s eligibility to vote.
Gloria said discrepancies are not uncommon, especially with mail-in balloting on this scale.
The County Commissioner board exchanged questions with one of the attorneys to ensure that all statutes, rules and guidelines be followed when considering the issues and concerns related to the election results.
The focus was narrowed to the County Commission District C race due to the tight 10-vote difference. After ruling out a recount, which would not change the discrepancies that Gloria identified, the board ultimately decided to certify all the election results except those for the Clark County Commission District C race. A special election will now be considered for that race only in December.
“We have found discrepancies that we can’t explain that would cast a doubt on whether or not that margin of victory is solid,” Gloria said about the District C race.
Over the weekend, the final provisional votes were added into the system.
Before the vote, Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, who represents the Anthony campaign, requested that election results not be certified on the grounds that there were discrepancies. Mayo-DeRiso presented a letter, which contained allegations of irregularities, including double votes and issues with mail-in ballots.
Upon the decision to likely hold a special election, Mayo-DeRiso told 8 News Now, “We’ve been hearing from everybody across the district, ‘How did this happen? We voted for Stavros.’ Now is your chance. You have to turn out.” Mayo-DeRiso did not cite any fraud and said the irregularities were likely due to human error.
A representative from the Miller campaign did not return a request for comment.
This year, there is some extra interest because of the close separation in many high-profile races.
President Donald Trump tweeted about the Clark County Commission vote, with some notable inaccuracies in his tweet.
“Big victory moments ago in the State of Nevada,” the president tweeted. “The all Democrat County Commissioner race, on same ballot as President, just thrown out because of large scale voter discrepancy. Clark County officials do not have confidence in their own election security. Major impact!”
In the event of a special election, just the District C seat would be on the ballot. Other races voted on by the more than 200 precincts in District C would not be on the ballot, including the race for president. The race also is not “all Democrat,” as Anthony is running as a Republican.
Gloria said the people who voted twice may not have done so with ill intent, but each case will be forwarded to the Secretary of State’s Office for further review.
A date for the special election could be decided during the commission’s first December meeting.
